The Gauhati High Court has ordered the Assam government to hand over ₹2 lakh in interim compensation to a Muslim woman of Bengali origin who was sent across the border into Bangladesh before she could contest a ruling that had branded her a foreigner.
A Rare Order Against the State
Legal observers believe this is the first time a court has penalised the state financially for pushing someone into Bangladesh in a manner that breaches established deportation procedure. The case reached the High Court after relatives of the woman, identified as Mumtaz Begum, filed a habeas corpus petition once they discovered she had already been sent out of the country. A Division Bench of Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Susmita Phukan Khaund examined how the Nagaon Foreigners Tribunal had dealt with her matter, and remarked that the record itself pointed to what it called "malice in law" on the tribunal's part.
How the Tribunal Case Unfolded
Begum's file had already been before the High Court once before. The court had earlier found that the tribunal did not weigh all the evidence she had submitted, and had sent the matter back for a fresh look. It was only after this second round of proceedings that the tribunal, on May 30, declared her a foreign national.
Arrested Before She Could Appeal
The Bench found that Begum was never told about the May 30 verdict and was taken into custody shortly after it was passed, which meant she lost any real chance to move a higher court against the finding. Judges also flagged inconsistencies between what the tribunal judge and the police said about exactly when and how her arrest took place. In the Bench's assessment, it was the conduct of state authorities that stopped Begum from exercising her right to approach the High Court before she was deported.
What the Court Has Ordered
Along with the ₹2 lakh interim payment, which the Assam government has been given 60 days to release, the Bench clarified that Begum remains free to seek further compensation through a civil court. The Ministry of External Affairs has also been made a party to the case, with the Bench indicating it would ask the ministry to try to trace Begum in Bangladesh and arrange her return to India. Separately, the court has asked the Home and Political Department to look into exactly when the tribunal's May 30 order was actually drawn up, given the questions raised over its timing. To prevent a repeat of what happened to Begum, district Superintendents of Police have been instructed to make sure anyone declared a foreigner is informed of the tribunal's decision before being detained, and that an adult member of that person's family is told before they are removed from the district.
